CVE-2024-4141
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedOut-of-bounds array write in Xpdf 4.05 and earlier, triggered by an invalid character code in a Type 1 font. The root problem was a bounds check that was being optimized away by modern compilers.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceOut-of-bounds array write vulnerability in Xpdf 4.05 and earlier, triggered when parsing a Type 1 font containing an invalid character code. The vulnerability results from a bounds check that modern compilers optimize away, allowing the out-of-bounds write to occur.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 4.05CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Xpdf versionRun 'xpdf -v' or check the application properties/About dialog to determine the installed Xpdf version numberAffected if The version is 4.05 or any earlier version (e.g., 4.04, 4.03, etc.)
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Locate the Xpdf binary or libraryFind where the xpdf executable or libxpdf library is installed on your system using 'which xpdf' or by checking common installation directoriesAffected if Xpdf is present on the system at any version 4.05 or earlier
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Verify Type 1 font parsing capabilityXpdf inherently supports Type 1 font parsing as part of its PDF rendering functionality; no specific configuration toggle is required to enable this featureAffected if Xpdf can open or render PDF documents, which implies Type 1 font parsing is available
You are affected if Xpdf version 4.05 or earlier is installed on your system, regardless of how it is used, since the vulnerable Type 1 font parsing code is always present in those versions.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade Xpdf to a version newer than 4.05 that contains the corrected bounds checking logic for Type 1 font parsing.
Xpdf version greater than 4.05 (check www.xpdfreader.com for the latest stable release)
- 1. Identify all systems running Xpdf version 4.05 or earlier
- 2. Download the latest stable Xpdf release from the official source at www.xpdfreader.com
- 3. Replace the vulnerable Xpdf installation with the updated version
- 4. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the Xpdf version (e.g., 'pdftotext -v' or 'pdfinfo -v')
- 5. Test that PDF files with Type 1 fonts process correctly in the updated version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-4141 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-4141 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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